“Getting the balance right is very important,” Lew said at a press conference with his German counterpart, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. “More domestic demand and investment would be a good thing.”

Schaeuble countered that Germany’s economy is driven by domestic demand and the country’s current account surplus, a constant target of criticism, doesn’t exist within the euro zone, Germany’s largest trading partner.

Washington has repeatedly criticized Germany’s export-focused economic policies that it believes are weakening growth in the euro area and called on Berlin to boost domestic demand.

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